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Историк перепутья: Три жизни Роберта Виппера. Рец. на: “Die drei Leben eines Historikers: Robert Vipper (1859–1954) in der russischen, lettischen und sowjetischen Geschichtsschreibung” (ed. by Jan Kusber, Ilgvars Misāns, and Maike Sach. Berlin: Peter Lang, 2025)
The reviewed collection of articles presents a multifaceted study of the life and work of the outstanding Russian historian Robert Yuryevich Vipper (1859–1954). The focus is on his unique destiny as a “historian at a crossroads,” who passed through three distinct political and cultural contexts: imperial and revolutionary Russia, emigration to independent Latvia, and return to the USSR. Particular attention is paid to the least-studied Latvian period (1924–1941), when Vipper actively published in Latvian and significantly influenced local historiography by developing the method of comparative history and exploring issues of agrarian development and serfdom in the Baltic region. The collection meticulously analyzes the evolution of his scholarly interests – from early works on Calvinism and Antiquity to the philosophy of history and “new idealism” – and traces the forced methodological transformations brought about by changing eras and ideological systems. The review also draws substantive parallels between Vipper’s fate and the biographies of other scholars of his generation (such as E.V. Tarle and L.P. Karsavin), providing deeper insight into the tragic and adaptive trajectories of intellectuals in a turbulent era. Despite the inherent fragmentariness of collective works, this collection represents an important step toward a comprehensive understanding of Vipper’s legacy and opens new perspectives for research in the history of science and intellectual biography.